Uncovering Ianto
by junoangelpie
Summary: Ianto is just the shy teaboy of Torchwood Three. Nothing more. Or is that really all he is?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction so please be kind! I will try to update this weekly. Feel free to critique.**

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><p>The Torchwood Institute dealt with a lot of strange and otherworldly objects and people, but they had never once seen someone hack into their system. Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Owen, and Tosh were sitting in the boardroom discussing the anatomy of a Weevil when a hologram popped up, revolving in the center of the table.<p>

A human potato was speaking in the middle of the screen. "Torchwood Three! This is an honor!"

Jack stood. "How did you get into our security system?"

"We are the Sontarans! We will destroy you with our faultless battle skills!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sorry, this planet's protected. What is this call about?"

The Sontaran motioned with a two-fingered hand and the camera zoomed out. There stood two Sontarans over a kneeling figure with ragged dirty blonde hair. "We have come to bargain with your leader!"

Jack looked bewildered. "I've never seen that girl in my life!"

Ianto stood up gracefully. "Jack, this is not in your jurisdiction. I'll handle this."

The team looked stunned at their teaboy taking charge, but he looked solemn and _dangerous_, like a panther. Jack sat down.

The girl looked up, her filthy face splitting into a huge grin. "Yan! Good to see you again!"

Ianto gave her an exasperated look. "Thia…"

He continued to the Sontarans. "I am Ianto Jones, Admiral of the starship _The Avenger_. Any and all decisions involving my crew and my ship end with me. I believe I am of enough authority to negotiate this issue."

The Torchwood team stared at Ianto. This confident leader had just risen out of their teaboy's shell, surprising them all. Was this what was hiding behind that shy, tough outer wall that Ianto put up around them all? They realized that they had barely scratched the surface with uncovering Ianto.

The Sontaran was now talking. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Admiral Jones! The Sontarans have heard of your conquests across the universe. It is an honor!"

"Thank you. I too have heard of the Sontaran race. You are renowned for your skill in combat and your adeptness at the art of war."

"Thank you! I trust we shall be great enemies!"

Ianto inclined his head. "As do I. I believe you hold something of mine, however, and I would very much appreciate it if you gave her back. I will be a more formidable opponent later, and therefore a greater victory to the Sontaran race if you let her go."

"You are very wise, Admiral Jones! Very well, we will let her go to destroy her later!"

The girl laughed. "Not if I get you first. Now, if you would give me my travel device…"

A black watch was thrown at her, much like the watch Ianto was wearing currently. She winked. "Thanks boys. See you later."

With that she pressed her thumb to the watch's face and dissolved. The Sontarans saluted Ianto, who gave a salute in return. The hologram flickered off.

A moment of silence passed before the table exploded.

"IANTO JONES!"

"Are you-"

"What-"

"Hey teaboy-"

Ianto winced, sinking back into his chair. He massaged his forehead before returning the rest of the team's accusatory gazes. Jack, though thoroughly confused, took charge of the situation and slammed his palms on the table. "Alright, everybody quiet!"

The tense atmosphere made it hard to breathe before he continued. "I'm sure you all have questions for Ianto. God knows I do. So here's how this is going to work. We will go around the table, one at a time, each of us asking Ianto one question. Clear?"

Everyone nodded. Jack sighed. "All right. I'll go first then."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I am so sorry! I kept getting swamped by homework. I will probably be uploading more often now, so no worries!**

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><p>"Well," Jack stated, million dollar grin firmly in place, "This is definitely new. In all my years of Torchwood I have never had another captain!"<p>

Ianto smiled shyly. "Actually, technically, I'm an admiral."

"And that brings us to my question! How the hell did that happen?"

"Well, it's a very long story…"

"We have plenty of time."

Tosh leaned forward, her small hand reaching out to catch Ianto's. "Ianto, we know that we haven't exactly treated you with respect recently, but we would really appreciate it if you would help us understand how you became so influential."

Ianto smiled at her. She was right. They deserved to know. He would tell his story, for her and for Jack.

"Yeah teaboy, what she said."

Owen, however, was asking for a date with his stun gun.

He smiled slightly. "All right. As I said before, this is a rather long story. I'm going to ask that you keep your questions until the end, however pressing they might be."

He said this with a pointed look at Gwen. "It started when I was a teenager. I was born in the 39th century, just as they were coming up with idiotic things like artificial intelligences and doing all wrong. Machinery was everywhere, thrown around like trash, factories were spitting smog…I'm not entirely certain how the world didn't explode. The only thing I knew back then was that I wanted out. I wanted to get off the Earth and explore what was out there. So, three of my closest friends and I decided to build a ship and get out.

Now, in the 39th century, things are taught a little differently. Kids learn how to build things from the moment they're born. Schools teach people primarily about machines and how to create and improve. So, the three of us were able to make a beautiful ship. We called it _The Avenger_. We ran into one slight difficulty, however. Time travel hadn't yet been perfected to the point that we could use it. My friend Panda, though, he was brilliant. He used teleportation devices and theories on time travel to create a successful device that could take us through time and space. It was amazing.

Once _The Avenger_ was created, we finally were able to go into the universe and explore. None of us left much behind, though. We had all lost our families to the factories as young kids, so we pretty much raised each other. Thia, Panda, and I were all the family we had.

We all had different roles once we got the ship going. Panda was the mechanic. He was always rushing around, making sure everything worked. Thia was the main artillery person. She defended the ship and the crew. I was appointed the leader, probably because I was the oldest.

We explored so many different places. It was beautiful, the entire universe spread about before us. We visited places all over time and space, wreaking havoc and fixing things.

However, we couldn't stay as a bunch of wandering humans forever. As time went on, news of our exploits had travelled to many different planets. We began making both allies and enemies. We couldn't carry on as just three people. So we recruited some friends from past adventures. We ended up having around fifteen people on _The Avenger_, handpicked by Thia, Panda, and me.

Then something very interesting happened. The Shadow Proclamation reached out to us, pleading us to help defend a planet called Malcassairo against the brutal and unprecedented attacks of Alpha Canis One. We agreed, and suddenly we were in the middle of a warzone. Malcassairo was in ruins, but we managed to win the war, sort of.

The Shadow Proclamation then enlisted us as their freelance defense ship. We helped wherever needed, and helped with the clean up. It was hard work, but we were defending the universe. What could ever amount to something as amazing as that?

And then…Pyrovilia happened. The planet was made up of almost entirely volcanoes, and the Pyrovites looked like living magma and stone heaped together into a giant. Something was wrong with the ship, so we landed on the safest bit of land we could find. We all got clear, just in case…except for Panda. He had put his soul into that ship, and he would give his life to fix it. I saw the glow and immediately knew something was wrong. I ran toward the ship with Thia following me. I couldn't leave Panda; he was family to us all. Then the ship blew up.

See, Panda had used Huon particles to make the ship travel through time. He had used the old TARDIS theories to create a reality. The particles are normally deadly, but Thia, Panda and I had been gradually exposed to more and more Huon energy over the past seven years. So when the ship exploded, Huon energy went everywhere, killing mostly everything. Except us three. Well, we thought Panda was dead at first when we pulled him out of the wreckage. He _was_ dead. He just didn't stay that way."

Ianto turned to Jack, smiling softly. "The Huon particles had made us immortal."

Jack flinched, his face a multitude of emotions. "_What_?"

"The Huon particles. Made us. Immortal. We're like you Jack. I felt the same way when I found out about you."

Relief, guilt, and sadness flashed across Jack's face before he hid them behind his trademark grin. "We _will _be discussing this later. So what happened next?"

"We were so lonely for so long. Panda had managed to patch up _The Avenger_, and we gave our crew honorable burials on the hills of Asgard. But after that we wandered the universe aimlessly. We didn't care about the trivial disputes and wars of the planets anymore. We were all so tired.

Then we met the Doctor. He was the strangest and one of the most wonderful men I have ever met. He told us that we had to find purpose to truly live and feel again. So that's what we did. We still run into him, now and again. We built up the crew once more, and _The Avenger_ was off once more. Panda and his team of mechanics invented and developed many different devices, like that watch you saw, in the hologram. Thia trained everyone on board the arts of defense and manipulation. I…led, I guess. I navigated us through the good times and the bad times. In the end, I'm glad we didn't just stop after Pyrovilia. I will always miss those who died, but we've got to keep looking forward."

Ianto stopped talking and cleared his throat. Everyone sat around the table, their jaws nearly touching the ground. Silence cascaded over the Hub. Then Tosh got up and walked over to Ianto. She stood there for a second before throwing her arms around him and breaking down on his shoulder. "Ianto, you are so strong, so brave, I'm so sorry we never realized that."

"Tosh, don't cry. I don't know what to do when a girl cries."

Tosh pulled away with a watery giggle and a sniff. "You are amazing, you know that?"

"Hear hear!" Jack exclaimed.

Ianto smiled. He was on the road to being accepted by his coworkers and friends.

"Okay, who's next?"

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><p><strong>AN: If you have any questions for Ianto, just review!**


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